Myanmar to introduce e-visa system

YANGON, MYANMAR: The country is going to introduce e-visa system as a pilot project in February to facilitate foreign travellers' visits and promote tourism in the country.

Myanmar Ministry of Hotels and Tourism, which will introduce online electronic visa system, has started installing Internet lines at the information departments of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Immigration and Population, Xinhua reported citing the Yangon Times.

The move will facilitate world visitors in those countries where there is no Myanmar embassy.

Some airlines arranged visa-on-arrival for visitors from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.

Ahead of the country's general election in November, 2010, Myanmar re-granted the visa-on-arrival service of its kind, which was halted in September during the same year.

In 2011, the number of tourists arrival at Myanmar's Yangon International Airport reached a total of 359,359.

Also, Myanmar is implementing a plan to extend and upgrade the Yangon International Airport into an international airport that is capable of handling 3.8 million passengers a year and providing full service needed to attain an international airport's standard.

There are six domestic airlines in Myanmar, including the state-owned Myanmar Airways and five private-run airlines, including Air Mandalay, Yangon Airways, Air Bagan, Asian Wings and Kanbawza.

There is also another Myanmar international airline -- the Myanmar Airways International (MAI)-- flying solely some foreign destinations.

Besides the MAI, which flies internationally as Myanmar's national flag carrier, there are 13 foreign airlines flying Yangon comprising Air China, China Southern Airline, China Eastern Airlines, Thai Airways International, Indian Airlines, Air Asia, Taiwan region's China airlines, Silk Air, Malaysian Airlines, Bangkok Airways, Jetstar Asia, Thai Air Asia and Vietnam Airlines.